[Thermodynamics] Adiabatic Process
By: Tao Steven Zheng (郑涛)
An adiabatic process is a type of thermodynamic process which occurs without transferring heat or mass between the system and its surroundings. Unlike an isothermal process, an adiabatic process transfers energy to the surroundings only as work.
【Problem】
Suppose the volume and the pressure
of a gas undergoing adiabatic compression is modelled by
, where
is constant. When the volume is 64 L, the pressure is 20 kPa.
If at a moment the pressure is decreasing at the rate of 1 kPa per second, find the instantaneous rate of change of the volume.
【Solution】
It is known that at
and
.
Derive the function with respect to time.
Since is constant,
